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May 16th, 2013
All My Children & One Life to Live To Now Air Two Episodes Each Per Week! Letter From Prospect Park To Fans Addresses Changes!

Courtesy/TOLN

After the first few weeks of the re-launch of beloved soaps All My Children and One Life to Live online by Prospect Park, chiefs Jeff Kwatinetz and Rich Frank have decided in the best interest of the survival of both shows in their new format to make an adjustment to the weekly viewing schedule.

The change is to help ensure the beloved soap community, the soaps themselves, production, and all facets of delivering the content to the viewers is working in symmetry, and more importantly so viewers can keep up with the faster pace of the storytelling of the soaps in this format. That means there will now be two new episodes per week of All My Children and two new episodes per week of One Life to Live.

Starting next Monday May 20th, All My Children will be uploaded on Monday and Wednesday, and new episodes of One Life To Live on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday will continue to be day for the MORE show. One of the reasons related for the decision is to make it easier for online viewers to catch up when four new episodes of both soaps proved difficult for many online viewers, many of whom have already fallen behind, according to data culled from Prospect Park. To accommodate, Prospect Park will keep all aired episodes of AMC and OLTL on the free Hulu platform for now, instead of migrating the older ones on Hulu Plus, with only the 10 most recent segments were originally scheduled to be available for free.

In addition, according to Deadline.com, “With the new schedule, OLTL and AMC will now produce about 110 episodes a year instead of the planned 168, which is expected to give writers more time to catch up and also provide more time for editing and post-production. AMC is finishing a five-week shooting cycle today. It will be followed by a four-week scheule for OLTL, after which the two shows will go on an 8-episode break and resume production in August.”

Here now is the official letter from Prospect Park’s Jeff and Rich. Please read it in it’s entirety for all the reasoning behind the change, and to answer all your questions!

LETTER TO FANS FROM JEFF KWATINETZ AND RICH FRANK: ” For close to two years we have been working passionately to bring first run premium content to an online platform with the creation of brand-new versions of the two iconic series, All My Children and One Life To Live. There was no precedent for this effort- we had no history-no barometer for how our fans would respond. We always knew there would quickly be new insights into how audiences would respond to our shows and this new platform, and that our ability to adapt quickly to audience needs would ultimately determine the long-term success of the shows and our mission. This is a new medium, a new time and we have always planned to make changes quickly by listening to you, our fans and customers.

Today it is clear these shows have resonated, as many millions of views have been logged since our April 29th debut, a mere two and a half weeks ago. We’ve consistently been in the top ten shows viewed on Hulu and viewers and critics alike have told us how impressed they are with the quality of both programs. The past two weeks have been invaluable in terms of learning about how you watch and when you watch our shows on this new platform. We have gained enormous insight through our actual viewing data and our research. And our research has revealed the following:

· In the past these shows had their vast majority of views within the first 24 hours. Instead, our shows are primarily consumed on different days then when they originally air. Primarily, fans have been binge viewing or watching on demand, and as a result, we feel we have been expecting our audience to dedicate what has turned out to be an excessive amount of time to viewing these shows. (As an example, for the substantial audience only watching on the weekends, we are currently asking them to watch five hours of programming to keep pace with our release schedule).

·On ABC the shows shared a large percentage of their viewers with each other. Yet, the majority of our viewers are watching one show or the other, not both, and they aren’t viewing the shows when they did before. Part of the reason for choosing between the shows may be that the largest viewing takes place either between 12PM and 1PM (when people generally can only fit one episode during lunch time) or between 5PM and 7PM (when the vast majority of competing shows are a half hour long). We are finding that asking most people to regularly watch more than a half hour per day online seems to be too much.

·During their ABC runs, viewers watched only 2-3 episodes on average a week and picked up with whichever day’s episode it was. Our viewers seem to primarily start with the first episode and then continue forward episode by episode. Like with primetime serialized dramas as opposed to the traditional slower pacing of daytime, people feel lost if they miss an episode. People are starting from the beginning; the shows are designed for complete viewing from episode one. Yet starting from the beginning with the amount of episodes we are releasing is asking too much for viewers who need to catch up.

The clear conclusion is that while somewhat mixed, these viewing patterns resemble more closely the typical patterns of online viewing rather than how one would watch traditional television. This leads us to believe we are posting too many episodes and making it far too challenging for viewers to keep up. When it comes to online viewing, most of us are just trying to find time to watch series comprised of 13 to 22 episodes a season-so asking viewers to assign time for over 100 episodes per show is a daunting task.

Therefore, we have chosen to revise our scheduling model beginning this Monday, May 20th by introducing two new episodes from OLTL and AMC each week- new episodes of AMC will now run on Mondays and Wednesdays, and fresh episodes of OLTL will post Tuesdays and Thursdays. MORE, our behind the scenes series, will run as a single show on Fridays. This allows us to introduce a new episode of quality television every Monday through Friday and gives the audience a chance to catch up as we continue to build awareness and excitement around these new shows. Because Hulu agrees with our findings, for the meantime they will keep all of our episodes on Hulu.com for free to give viewers the opportunity to find us and catch up.

We know our most dedicated viewers will be upset as they would probably prefer more shows to less (we personally wish there were more episodes of our favorite shows; we would love 50 episodes a year of Homeland, Mad Men or The Simpsons). We apologize to these viewers and ask them to please understand we are trying to ensure our shows succeed and not meet the fate they experienced previously. We need to devise a model that works for all viewers and follows how they want, and are actually watching, online. When it comes to online, as with all new technology, it’s adapt or fail. We feel fortunate to be an online company and to have such an opportunity to adapt. Of course, we will continue to evaluate all the data that comes in and will be vigilant about revising our strategy as needed.

We want to be clear that this will in no way impact our feverish pace of production – we will be filming new episodes through mid-June, continue editing throughout July and until we go back into production in August. It’s a frenetic schedule but all of us are up for the challenge and excited to continue to deliver great shows.

As a new venture we felt obligated to address the needs of our viewers head on and to make adjustments that we think will work for our viewers. And as always, we thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

Sincerely
Rich Frank and Jeff Kwatinetz”

So AMC and OLTL fans, what do you think of the change going from four episodes to two? Will it help in making sure everyone is caught up with all the action? What do you think of the note from Jeff and Rich? Weigh-in on your thoughts!

And really,,,who cant keep up with an hour a day for both shows, WHEN its on WHENEVER you want to see it? Sounds like just an excuse to me. IF they are in the top ten of HULU…then they shouldnt be faltering , as in NO viewership, so why cut them back at all. We older viewers are still here every day or so no matter what. I hope this keeps them going, I guess its better to have two a piece than none at all. But I can do without the wrap up show on Fri. I’d like to see another episode on that day

Patrick replied May 16th, 2013 at 12:58 pm

OH NO! this isn’t right?

is it down to big bucks? cost of production?

yes, i admit i was wondering…when i’d catch up… and i am… but… when free time is… i can watch all 4 in one sitting.

————

the continuity and expectation of knowing OUR SOAPS ARE ON 4-5 days a week.. is what we know.

Does everyone REALLY think these shows are good…..I think the acting is terrible and I really don’t get it??? Most are the same actors….I feel like everything is so OVERACTED and whoever is in charge of casting I also don’t get. AJ is awful on amc I have watched these soaps for over 30 years and I am a REAL fan …….please someone make them better. PLEASE!!

Thank God somebody said it! I think the actor who plays AJ is good in his own way but he should not have been cast as AJ Chandler!

Paul replied May 19th, 2013 at 7:55 pm

AJ is soooo gay. I’m not bashing. I’m gay too – but she’s (sorry he’s) so gay. Who believes for a second that he’s into Little Miss Eye-roller: Miranda. Palease…

Jan replied May 22nd, 2013 at 6:54 am

oltl is excellent acting all around.

PAULA replied May 17th, 2013 at 1:41 am

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YA ALL IT SUCKS…TO BE BLUNT AND HONEST..SORRY MICHAEL,,,FYI, IF ANY OF YOU HAVE FACEBOOK, I HAVE AN EVENT CALLED… ALL MY CHILDREN & ONE LIFE TO LIVE RETURN ON HULU.COM…FEEL FREE TO JOIN, IVE BEEN UPLOADING THE LINKS OF THE SHOWS I ALSO ADDED THAT IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS ILL ANSWER THEM TO MY BEST ACKNOWLEDGE….AGAIN THIS SUCKS FOR AIRING THE SHOWS ONLY TWICE A WEEK, Y’ALL KNOW WE ALL GOGT JIPPED AND SORTA LIED TO, THOSE DAMN PEOPLE AT PROSPECT PARK, AS FOR THAT I DEMAND THAT MICHAEL EASTON RETURN TO GH AS JOHN. KRISTEN ALDERSON AS STARR, AND ROGER HOWARTH AS TODD

Knowing a bit about the biz, this is a very bad sign. I’m not sure I buy the explanation as they aired 5 hours a week on the network. The pace is faster, but I have no trouble keeping up. I am concerned now that this will only be 1 year deal. That’s only how long the current contracts are for. I agree there are bad elements, there are things I don’t like too, but it’s better than no show at all. It would be nice if ABC just admitted they made a huge mistake. They could have half hour shows and can Katie. We don’t need another bad talk show. PP could still produce it as they can do it cheaper.

I agree. It doesn’t sound very promising. It took a long time to get going and it’s only been on a while and now this! ABC will never admit how stupid they were! They rather keep airing garbage.

Kayla replied May 26th, 2013 at 2:21 am

PP is NOT going to produce anything for ABC given they are suing them. What color is the sky in your little world? lmao

Bellawyo replied May 20th, 2013 at 11:38 am

I have been watching AMC & OLTL for 40 years and I never had a problem with the 1 hr format on TV so I definitely can make time for 1 hour a day for the two soaps 4 days a week. I am grateful they are back and could also do without the Friday episode

Same here, but now with just 2 episodes of each a week , 2 hrs in total to watch, I would watch them all at once at the end of the week rather than turn on the computer for a 25 minute show each day. This is what they said everyone was doing and feel they are falling behind so they cut down the episodes. The hype going online was anytime viewing and it was our choice when we watched. Feels like we are being penalized if we watch weekly because TPTB feel we are falling behind so they cut down the episodes. Now they are already replacing the writers after only 4 weeks on line. Seems to me that they are covering up the real reasons for the episode cut back and blaming fans who don’t watch daily when most of us have watched 5 one hr episodes a week for 20, 30 or 40 years with the invention of VHS and now Tivo and DVR .

JW replied May 25th, 2013 at 6:13 am

suncity29880, that’s crazy….i do not really care for the new version of AMC…… many actors/actresses…. no follow thru with previous story line……..please back the old characters & continue where they left off……………thks

I was used to watching an hour of AMC every day. I taped in the earlier days and dvr’d it every day and I watched when I got home from work to relax. Now the show is 1/2 hour 4 days a week, and although I enjoy the More show, I miss that day of story. Not it will only be two days of story. My feeling is why bother. I would like it to be an everyday thing even if I have to catch up sometimes. This decision does not make me happy. Ellen

Ellen, you sum up my feelings nicely. Going from being able to watch and keep up with 5 hours a week down to 1 hour a week is disappointing. Plus with the 1/2 format there is much less story to keep up with…

I can see where there may be folks who are just hearing about these soaps being produced again. But really, the first 3 weeks equal 6 hours of viewing. Viewing which can be accessed any time you want!

This feels like something else is going on. Perhaps the ad money just isn’t what they had anticipated. I’m afraid that 1 hour per week is really going to have a negative impact on viewer retention…

I have been enjoying the reboots of AMC and OLTL. I still cannot believe the shows have returned! While disappointed at two entries per week instead of four, I understand this brave new world of television viewing means some changes and tweaks. Everyone keep watching and supporting AMC and OLTL, please!

BIG THANK YOU, Michael, for staying on top of the develoments here and sharing so much detail. I rely on you for such, and appreciate your efforts and hard work.

I agree completely! I’ll take AMC in any format, any length, any days, any time!!!! I’ve watched it since it began, so having it available to me again, is wonderful! I’ve missed all my AMC friends and am very happy to have them in my life again. It would be nice to see longer episodes and more per week but I can and am living with this new change! Thank you!!!

People “binge view” (one of the excuses for shortening) because the episodes are so short nowadays… if people are only going to get 2 new shows a week (adding up to less than an hour with commercials) they are going to lose interest. How can you base a decision when they have been back on barely two weeks and in the spring when most people start to watch less TV anyway. The season itself causes people to “binge view” most of their shows anyway because of the nicer weather…

Have you been on some of the other soap sites? You will see their are A LOT of ppl that just think just because it is online That the soaps are on HULU indefinitely and MOST watch it for FREE, Then they are all over the boards trying to figuring out what is going on because they waited to long….I understand the Viewers are the key to the success of these shows HOWEVER I think they should not limit our shows, INSTEAD DO A LOT OF ADVERTISING to let the fans know how to watch and that if they watch it for free they CAN NOT BINGE VIEW more or less….Sorry for the ones that watch everyday this is not fair but It is still better than none I guess!

Anyone who believes that “binge-viewing” is the reason for the cut-backs is a bit naive. The reason is money pure and simple and if PP were up front about that, it would show they respect the fans instead of handing them a convoluted and clearly untrue line about the reason being online viewership habits. I only hope that they were upfront with the cast and crew and didn’t screw with their compensation/contracts by backpedaling.

This is a terrible idea!! We want our soaps every day. What difference does it make who binge watches as they can still watch them when they want. When they were on tv most recorded them during the week and then watched them on the weekend anyway. Why punish those of us that prefer 4 new episodes and watching them daily, just because there are some that prefer to watch them all at once? And even if I decide to binge watch, who’s to say I don’t prefer to binge watch 2.5 hours of soaps anyway?

I subscribed to Hulu just so I can watch OLTL. If they reduce it, it won’t be worth the money,

Joliefan forever replied May 16th, 2013 at 3:31 pm

And that is what Screwed AMC and OLTL because those are NOT counted! They need the viewers and they need them during the week!!!

jimh replied May 16th, 2013 at 3:49 pm

I was paying 7.99 a month to watch and it hardly held my interest as it is so i watched as often as i could but now im going to drop them for good and cancel my subscription..glad GH is still on abc

TigressLover replied May 23rd, 2013 at 4:22 pm

I too only got hulu+ for the shows. I already dont like paying $8 a month to watch a 30 min show WITH commercials! I mean if im paying money, why am I forced to watch ads? I can do that for free on hulu.com already cancelled my sub. I also dont care or watch the”more” stuff. Maybe with them only being twice a week, the writers can do. More research into the history. Like when Miranda said her daddy was a test tube? We all know different, & they mentioned the “center” which is what they called the Miranda center. If daddy came from donor why would there be a center named after her? & whats up with Matthew calling Bo Bo instead of dad? So many other inconsistencies to name…

ML replied May 24th, 2013 at 7:11 pm

Soapnet even has a “marathon ” of GH on the weekend just proving that some watch all the episodes at once of the shows still on network tv ( 5 hrs a week). This can not be the real reason for the cutback of episodes.

This is disappointing on one hand, but a part of me wants to be understandable. I can understand how they would conclude that people aren’t watching 4 episodes in a span of 4 days, but I don’t think it is necessarily a bad thing if people “binge” on the weekends to catch up on the episodes they missed. They’re still watching and invested and it will reflect in PP’s/Hulu’s/ITunes’ numbers.

I also don’t think it will mean faster storytelling in a positive sense; if anything it will feel either slower or all out rushed.

I want to know how it will impact how Canadians watch though. Right now, FX Canada airs AMC and OLTL right after one another at 12:00PM/12:30PM and 5:00PM/5:30PM, with marathons on Saturday and Sunday. Does that mean now only one episode will air at 12:00PM and 5:00PM?

Well it depends on people’s schedules. Some people have day shifts, some have nights, some have 2 full-time jobs, some go out to do errands etc. Some people just might enjoy watching them all at once over the weekend to relax and unwind as opposed to spending their hectic weekday time committing multiple periods over blocks of days. Everyone’s different.

I know for me, being in Canada and only able to watch it on FX Canada, I can’t watch it “anytime” like Americans can, I can only watch them weekdays 12:00PM/12:30PM and 5:00PM/5:30PM and then marathons in the afternoon and again in the evening on weekends. Because I work during the weekday, I can’t watch it in the noon hour…so I miss it then. I only get home at about 5:45PM, so I miss all of AMC and can catch the last bits of OLTL. The only chance I can watch IS on a binge during the weekend during one of their marathons.

I don’t disbelieve PP when they say people binge watching. I think that’s pretty possible, if not entirely true. Maybe not everyone, like yourself, but I don’t think you can make a blanket statement like the one you made. Some people need to, and some people want to.

Totally agree, and it makes me LESS inclined to watch, not MORE. What is the point of being a regular loyal viewer for the equivalent of 46 minutes (minus commercials) of story time each week. Absurd is correct!

I completely agree! I was a loyal viewer of both shows from the beginning. I was thrilled that PP was able to bring them back. I’m liking the 30 minute format…reminds me of the early days of both soaps and there is a lot of story packed into 30 minutes. The mix of new and old characters is good and the language is, like it or not, a sign of the times.

I’ve been watching AMC and OLTL in the GH time slot…a smack to ABC from me. I’ve rewatched episodes just like I did when the soaps were on ABC and recorded them.

I don’t think the cutback is due to the type of viewership. I think PP doesn’t have enough funds…been there, done that with them. Whatever the reason, it stinks and has dented my reboot enthusiasm. I know, two episodes should be better than none, but I want what was promised. And, yeah, I may not make the effort to watch now. At this point, I put PP in the same trash heap with ABC daytime.

Joliefan forever replied May 16th, 2013 at 3:34 pm

Then you were never a fan to begin with and YOU sound like a spoiled Brat….I WANT WHAT I WAS PROMISED!!! OMG REALLY????

DeborahL replied May 17th, 2013 at 10:40 am

Joliefan why are you questioning someones fan loyalty? They have a right to have expectations of a company to put out what was promised…just like you and others may have boycotted ABC; likewise others can boycott PP if they so desire and I agree with those on here when they say this sucks and it sort of take some of the enthusiasm of the reboot away.

This has nothing to do with allowing people to catch up the shows, Im guessing long times fans have realized these are not the soaps that they loved. Whats the point of just 2 shows a week? PP took John, Todd, & Star off GH for this? If they were only going to o 2 shows a week, they should never have brought them back.

I agree. Who is behind the dispute that the characters of Todd, John and Starr shouldn’t show up on GH? PP said it was ABC’s fault, now I think its a PP problem. How can you decide that the plan isn’t working by cutting back on the show’s production to two times a week? Internet viewership isn’t like having the Nielsen ratings. You can’t judge that this isn’t going well just because people don’t comment on the shows or however you measure how well it is doing on Hulu, etc. Sheesh. Just when I was getting used to 4 times a week at 25 min. a piece they pull the rug right from under us. Not too happy with PP.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t go back into production in August. The money is obviously not there for these shows to be profitable. Hopefully they’ll end them right and not jerk us around anymore.

There’s no reason to believe it has anything to do with something other than profit margins – we’re fans and we don’t have access to the factors of this equation to solve it with far fetched conclusions

As sad as it may be, a hiatus for that long might be too much to overcome. They say all the right things in the press release but those of us who are smart enough understand that in business the only thing that matters is money. If it isn’t profitable it won’t work. Producing a new show 4 days a week is just not going to fly. It’s amazing to me that they even got this far but sustainability is a different beast entirely. They should have just done one, 1 hour a week episodes instead.

I like the MORE show for the behind the scenes and intervews, but with that host it reminds me of the Jersey Shores Afterhours show which is weird. And I can’t get past her horrible hairstyle. Other then that she is a good host.
I have had zero trouble keeping up with 1/2 hour of each show a day since I used to watch double that. Just sad that its getting cut in half now. Loyal since 1981!!

you are gonna lose me… guess it is just GH now… you can’t manage four episodes a week? it is like the actors work part time.. and you wonder why the three OLTL stayed at AMC… you are just like a bank… fast ouor of the gate and then 3 weeks in you start laying off people…. You are not fixing or changing the medium,,, you are ruining the medium… You seem to miss the part of Serial drama… that soap are 5 days a week. you come back with four days…with your lame recap fashion show which is truly a joke…. i guess all you got out of this …is that you can curse… you are gonna lose us all in the end….!!! i feel bad for the actors….

If you can’t pay the bills, Edward what do you suggest they do? You do realize that people don’t work for free, right? These shows cost a fortune and not being on broadcast tv means their ability to make money from ad revenue is significantly reduced.

FIRST NOT TEASE THE FANS WHO ARE THE REASONS FOR THEM COMING BACK . DON’T PUT OUT ALL THE MEDIA THEY DID ON HOW THE WAY THEY WERE DOING SOAPS WAS CHEAPER… MEANING ACTORS ARE PAID WEEKLY NOT BY EPISODE APPEARANCES.. AND MOVING TO CT WAS TO ELIVIATE ALL COVERING COSTS… PRODUCT PLACEMENT.. APPLE IS PAYING A FORTUNE TO HAVE EVERYONE USE A MAC BOOK…. AND IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON… THIS IS RIDICULOUS . SO YOU ARE INCORRECT ON MANY FRONTS….

Mary SF replied May 16th, 2013 at 12:40 pm

I think you have hit the mark– I suspect this is about money, not viewers viewing habits. You need deep pockets to produce a five shows, for 52 weeks a year, like most daytime soaps on television did. I hope this venture lasts because the fans of these two shows have had enough disappointment– but it doesn’t look too good if they are already scaling back production this early in the game.

Chris R replied May 16th, 2013 at 1:15 pm

Edward, do tell me then. How do shows make money?

Anyway, cutting production is about money and nothing else. This nonsense about viewers not being able to catch up is ridiculous.

paula replied May 19th, 2013 at 4:13 am

they should drop the Friday recap. no one likes it. that would save a little bit…

Delainey replied May 16th, 2013 at 4:22 pm

Completely agree, Edward! If they didn’t spend so much money on the money pit Shelter, legal fees to sue ABC, on two …maybe three characters that are going off after three weeks…Nero..nevo?…the bimbo from Jersey shore, another no name singer I think someone said she looked like kesha (with a $ for an s) whaa were these musicians part of JEff’s music talent agency?…and focused on writing good stories without the strobe light and liquor, maybe they wouldn’t need to cut back. This is about money, but producers blame game the viewers like ABC did. Prospect Park is just another egotistical big wig production co. without the big wig pockets. Jeff makes poor business decisions.

I don’t know for sure what this change means. It kinda scares me. Makes me think that maybe the production costs have proved to be too high and TOLN needs to cut back. .???
It’s gonna take some getting used to only having my OLTL on tues. and thurs. I just got used to having it back on the air and watching Every day. Only Time will tell I guess.

I agree an experiment but the rest is at best far fetched speculation – they knew they needed to grab new viewers and they might have them – but as they move forward they realize thers a better raio of bang for buck that involves attaining even more viewership – I rally don’t understand all these opinions that assume we understand the factors – I taught algebra and have had accounting classes and while that might not make me an expert I am exposed to the idea of assuming all the factors is not a way to go

I think this new idea stinks!! I only watch All My Children as I started watching this show while I was on my lunch from work. This is what my wife watched and I got hooked. These shows have already gone from an hour to a half hour. Now that I don’t work any longer, I look forward to watching a new episode of All My Children everyday. Now, I will no longer have that. I’m enjoying the new show and am glad it’s back but this stinks!!!

U still can.. on monday, just watch one episode of AMC.. then watch the next one on tuesday.. same thing for Wednes-Thurs. On tuesday, watch the first OLTL, and the second one wednesday, then do the same thing Thurs-Friday..then you’ll have at least one episode of soaps each day.

I watch these episodes on iTunes. So how is it that I want it for free. I’m talking about the Hulu watchers, extending the runtime to 45 minutes of show with the ads.

Christy replied May 16th, 2013 at 2:59 pm

how about 45 minutes of show, and 15 minutes of ads. And Hulu always asks me if the ad showing is relavant to me and then continues to play when I say no… I’d like to pick the kinds of ads I’m interested in

and how about Chad & Kristen shoot the behind the scenes video and talk to people like normal… no more of that host , no more fashion shows… that should save them money and Chad & Kristen are funny!

Think it’s a mistake. They have already cut down the shows by at least 12 minutes per episode since when they aired on ABC. With only two episodes per week, I am not sure that fans will stay committed.

I already missed having a real Friday episode. A lot of the Friday show is advertising.

One of the reasons fans love their soaps is because they are on consistently each day. Twice a week just doesn’t cut it.

I agree , I miss having 5 episodes a week, but I will still watch all that are on. They promoted this format so we could watch anytime , all episodes at once or daily , if we fall behind we catch up as we can. I have watched 5 1hour episodes per week of each soap for over 30 years, watching some times on the day they air, sometimes all on the weekend thanks to these great inventions called Tivo and DVR ,my choice. Now they are going to take half the episodes away because fans are watching when they have time? ABSURD !!!! Fans ARE WATCHING regardless of day or times !! This has to be some other issue after only 3 weeks to cut the episodes down. Prospect Park needs to be honest with all the fans that supported them and give us the real reason for them cutting episodes after all the talk about being able to watch any time, anywhere now online.

Hello?
After waiting and waiting to watch OLTL again..we get this? After only 2 weeks of viewing…let’s cut it to 2 episodes er WEEK…WTF…the WHOLE purpose of bringing them online was so viewers could watch when it was convenient to THEM…..this totally sucks!!

As much as this reasoning makes sense, and I even agree with it, it seems like it doesn’t bode well, and it seems they should have done a little more research (2 years evidently wasn’t enough). I truly hope this new format works so we can keep our shows any way we can get them. I’m really enjoying All My Children. For One Life to Live to work for me, they need to get out of Shelter. (I’m an older viewer; I think their after a younger demographic.) I’ll be more likely to watch OLTL now that AMC is only twice a week, so obviously their reasoning is working! Wishing all the best to all involved.
Let’s support our shows!

I think you’re right. First the lawsuit and co-head writer out. Now this. Doesn’t bode well. It is a shame because AMC is good. They should have kept the OLTLers on GH and premiered AMC online. That way, revenue from the OLTLers would be coming in and no need for an expensive lawsuit. I know OLTL fans will disagree but anyone watching objectively can see that AMC is the better show. The writing on OL has been bad from the beginning. AMC has been strong from day one.

I am a OLTL fan, and I agree with you Ava. I have looked objectively at both shows and AMC is clearly the stronger of the two.

paula replied May 19th, 2013 at 4:22 am

I watch both, but hate all the club scenes and what club would let in kids that are underage? And the kids are all drinking and Dani continues to drink after almost dying? I hate the club, they should take that out or have very little of it and they ruined Matthew. He would never be that way and never want to spend time with his kid. I love Bo and Nora. The writing isn’t too great on OLTL but I am happy to see the characters I love again!

Whatever they need to do to keep them on. I know I’m way behind. Less is more. I’m loving what I’ve watched so far, so PP, do what you need to. Rather something than nothing.

One thing for PP, it’s all new, and that’s time consuming as well. We’re learning a lot of new characters and all new stories. We have to pay attention now. It just can’t be on the in the background or skip a day or two and be able to catch-up. It’s also dense, which is good. But, the way it used to be is I’d watch OLTL at 9:00 on SoapNet (I’m a full-time Controller at an ad agency), I’d just have it on, read FB and absorb the information while I ate or cleaned.

Because it was a slower pace with stories that took months to unfold, if I missed anything at some point there’d be a flashback or something. I’d rarely do more to look back than that. Now, I do rewind b/c listening is essential.

Two a week, prob better to get the old momentum back, and to pick up the office headphone viewer.

If you guys need viewer input or a focus group person or something, ask the webmaster for my email address. I’d love to help out. and MF, if the site could pass this on, that would be very cool. Thanks.

I agree, Robert. On ABC you could watch a whole week’s worth but it would be the same day in Llanview. The new format is very fast paced and if you miss one day it’s not as easy to catch up, especially with summer starting. The actors have already commented that the fast pace doesn’t lend itself to flashbacks or repeating dialog from one day to the next. If you have ever watched a weeks worth of network soaps in one sitting, you realize how often they repeat themselves. I also think this will give PP time to regroup and make adjustments based on fan feedback. With only 2 episodes a week, what is already in the can will last longer and they may do some re-editing.

Well none of us is going to like it. But it must have to do with costs. I really hope this online thing works in the long run. But this sure makes me wonder. If only twice a week it would be better as one hour each. But I don’t buy that this is due to people not being able to catch up. I am so thankful to these two thus for all they have done though. This does worry me a lot though.

I think not enough people came back. If the numbers aren’t there to sell ads, it’s over. Not neccesarilly TOLN’s fault. It’s an experiment; there was no comittment. Turn the guns back to Disney. At least these guys tried and are trying to save it.

According to the EPs, to break even they had to avg. 500K people per episode, I think they’ve been doing that.. but still makes you wonder how things are going if they are doing this. Hopefully enuff of the fans will speak up and tell them they don’t like it, then they’ll change it back.

I work so soaps r hard to keep up with so I’m happy about this but I know not everyone feels this way – our shows r so exciting now that even if I didn’t work I’d want time to digest before being hit with another slam dunk – 2 a week is good tho cuz get a little spread but still getting weekday feel – at end of day I hope fans remember that pp has same goal as us – if they can get more bang for buck they gotta do it – oltl fans screamed so loud because the show ran on string thin budget and still knocked out of park – pp got it and said yes millions want this product so lets find a way to sell it – and hey believed amc could too with the right team – no even if it became a prime time once a week show – we need to remember the ground were breaking – hold onto your hat and let pp take the wheel – don’t forget what we fought for – we believed our shows were sellable and we were willing to look at new ways to sell it – this is just part of the journey – and actually we need those viewers who won’t be able to catch up with so many episodes – I love my show but its hard for me – I’m on vacation this week so I had time to write this

I agree. Still grateful they are on at all. Let’s remember that the prime time soaps aired for only 1 hour per week….aka. Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest. This may allow more time for people to watch both soaps. I had intended to watch both shows but was only finding time for my fav….OLTL. As disappointed as I am that they only gave it 3 weeks….maybe with the new schedule I will have time to also watch AMC. Still….with both shows being in the top 10 on Hulu the last three weeks….it does boggle the mind that they are already scaling back. Scary. Don’t want to lose our soaps again.

Big mistake !! Either put the show out there or stop it!! Hated the 4 days instead of 5. That “More” thing is like the Chew and all the junk they have on daytime TV now. You have a good line up with OLTL and AMC. Love the new shows, keep changing and they will lose all the viewers like myself. 2 days a week suck!!!!!!!!!!

Are they crazy cutting both All My Children and One Life To Live from 4 days a week to 2 days a week as most fans of both shows would like to see more episodes then what is currently being shown now.Why reduce the number of episodes per week from 4 down to 2 episodes when both shows are in the top 10 shows on Hulu as far as people watching the shows.

This is the first step in the final nail in the coffin. TOLN are realizing what ABC knew for a long time. These shows cost way too much and do not bring in the revenue they once did. With it being online, the revenue is only reduced even more. An 8 week hiatus during the summer? That spells doom to me.

Paula, they film for about 4 or 5 week intervals between AMC and OLTL. AMC just finished 5 weeks of taping and OLTL will start on Monday for 4 weeks. Then they will both be off for the summer and AMC will start taping in August. This is based on what I’ve read so it may not be totally accurate. My original post was made while I was rather disappointed and not thinking clearly. I understand the decision to scale back I just don’t like it.

They are going to release 2 episodes per week instead of 4. We won’t miss anything we’ll just have to wait longer to see it.

After reading the reasoning in the letter, instead of skimming it.. it looks like the soaps are just moving into the 21st century. We are use to a TV schedule, but an online schedule is different.. it’s not a piece at a time, it’s chunks at a time.

When I got into ‘Breaking Bad’.. it was last fall when they had 4 seasons in the can, where I would watch 2 or 3 episodes at a time on netflix.. and then come back a few days later and watch some more when I had time.

Their reasoning is sound, it’s hard to break out of old habits tho. We can still watch as little or as much as we want, it’s just not going to be together. Didn’t they say they were releasing two episodes of the same show a day? If that’s the case, watch one.. save the next one for tomorrow.. you only get AMC on monday and OLTL on Fridays, but Tues-Thursday you get both.

Perhaps it’s too much control for us to handle, but with patience and restraint, we can string out the week however we like, except on mondays.. when there’s only AMC.

Are they still 30 minutes.. or are they an hour everyday? Because it’s still just 30 minutes.. that’s BULLSH!T!!! Sure I’d rather have something than nothing, but if people can’t keep up..that’s too bad!

My understanding is that they will release AMC on Monday and Wens. and OLTL on Tues. and Thurs. The only solution is to watch both soaps. ….one 1/2 hour a day. Maybe it’s their way of getting people to watch both shows. I was only managing to catch OLTL everyday and missed many AMC episodes. Now I will probably watch whatever is on each day with my morning coffee.I’m not happy but it’s better than no shows at all.

What happened to “Watch Any Time, Any Where?” This makes NO sense! What did Prospect Park think was going to happen when they launched the original schedule? I watch both shows daily, I haven’t fallen behind. When the shows were on ABC they were an hour long, I watched daily, I didn’t fall behind. I haven’t heard of anyone complaining about that particular issue with the online reboot. I am having a hard time believing their justification for the scheduling revision. I will continue to watch per the new schedule, what choice do I have, but I have an eerie feeling that we will be hearing about the demise of AMC and OLTL yet again!

I think this is a good idea. I have been having a hard time finding the time to watch AMC and OLTL when the new shows were first posted. I think that having fewer shows during the week will help retain the current audience and build a large audience base. It seems like a proactive approach to keep the soaps going.

This is not good…we was supposed to have 30min… turned i to 24min… we get one big wow scene and thats it… tben we are finished for the. Day… to drop to 2days a week no it wont work…ppl will lose intrest fast… i feel so sorry for the actors before .myself because they were so excited to be ba k on… you know honesty is the best policy!….. if you do t have the money just be upfront… so no i am not happy

This does not bode well at all. How are they going to gain momentum by cutting back? I think people are going to lose interest – if they haven’t already. I think the soap model just can’t work online. I would prefer them to do a cable model – 13 episodes every 6 months or so. I don’t think this everyday thing (160+ episodes a year is going to work financially). Have a quality 13 episode season. I bet that way you get more actors to commit.

Switching to the 2 epi per week format is only going to make watching more cumbersome, which is what they claim to be trying to circumvent. Now, instead of remembering to watch your fav soap online (which hasn’t been a challenge for me btw) the viewers now also get to stop and wonder, “Oh, is it Tuesday? No, wait. It’s Wednesday. Nevermind.” I mean… wtf? Either these people are really dumb or their excuse is total BS. I’m not buying it.

…and this comes AFTER they force General Hospital to let go of John McBain, Todd Manning & Starr Manning. Nice move, Prospect Park. I’m sure all the OLTL actors who once had the potential to crossover are loving them right about now. They are effectively isolated on the sinking ship that apparently is OLTL. Now I’m just pissed.

This is absolutely ludicrous!!!! I thought this was “anytime” Not 2 days a week!!!!!! PP is making millions off their lawsuite against ABC and u mean to tell me we have to see the shows twice a week???? It was better off cancelled!!!!! I am sorry but its true!!!!!!!

I get that this news is upsetting to everyone, myself included. But to the people saying “that’s it, I’m done with this now”…..why the tantrum?????? What does that solve? So it’s only 2 days a week — still watch them. If people continue to watch good things have a chance of happening.

But if you stop watching altogether there is NO chance. We fought too hard to get these shows back to just stop watching because we don’t like the format. That’s childish, imo. Keep up the support and let’s see what happens!!

Michelle, I think perhaps this is a way for them to express their feelings…sort of like a support group. Trust me, many those who say they will not watch are only venting, they will continue to watch…there were times when I said I was boycotting a soap only to watch the next week when something exciting was about to happen…lol

I think that may be a big part of it. I used to watch my soaps and sit at the computer at the same time and pay bills, email, play games. Now my computer is tied up just watching the soaps. I am getting less done. It’s an adjustment but one I was willing to make. Wish they had given it more than three weeks to test the waters!!

B) they need to rethink the “popularity” of throwing out five curse words a show in the hopes of gaining a new audience

C) maybe they need to actually bring back the ‘original” stories/characterizations instead of just using the names and throwing us a little familiarity with a whole lotta different

D) maybe the head writer that quit didn’t like where (OLTL) was going. Maybe she’ll come back and save the show if they let her write a good one!

E) I dislike being thought of as a fool. That letter smacks of PR spin. Say it like it is…I doubt viewing habits are the reason.

F) Hulu.com usually lists shows by day/date. What could be confusing some people if they can’t “catch up” is that they’re not sure what they already saw.

G) The entire “reasoning” makes no sense; how can you not catch up to something you can watch 24 hours a day all week. You miss one episode? You watch it the next day….or the third…you watch all four shows at once which comes to a grand total of two hours.

We supported you Prospect Park and it’s your job to bring the shows to the internet. Which you’ve done thankfully.

It is our job to watch the shows… and your numbers prove that we are doing just that.

We were told by you that the great thing about the shows going to the internet is that we could watch when and how and at what times we “chose” to watch. We are doing our part….we are watching the shows.

And now you are telling us that we are watching wrong or at the wrong time, and that because of that you are penalizing us for it?

The episodes are downloaded to Hulu at 5:00 am four days a week and are available the whole of the day and thereafter. What difference does it make when we watch as long as we watch. I repeat… we are watching. We are doing our part….you should have told us that were time constraints attached to this deal and that there would be consequences or punishment if we didn’t adhere to time constraints. This whole thing is ridiculous.

It’s just annoying that after ALL the publicity and hoopla, and months and months of anticipation, after only 2 and a half weeks they thrown this bombshell at us – I think having the shows down to twice a week will somehow decrease viewing habits. I was just getting into a 4 times a week groove, and just tolerating the Friday “more” shows, which incidently are nothing to brag about. At this point, I don’t know WHAT to believe or WHOM – how can you follow a storyline with just two very short shows a week, sandwich in-between what I STILL consider to be too many commercials.

I don’t understand if the shows are in the top 10 each week, why reduce it? If fans are not watching according to the four day airing, that’s their problem. Most loyal fans have no problems watching them on Hulu each day. I mean you can watch both shows in an hour, anytime. I watch OLTL before I leave for work Mon-Thursday and AMC when I come home. The more shows, I usually watch on Saturdays. I hope this isn’t an indication that the shows will be cancelled. You can watch the shows whenever you want and again, it’s only 30 minutes, well 25 minutes after commercials. I watched today’s episode of OLTL and it was so good. Now, I have to wait til Tuesday for the new episode. I feel like they should have waited before making this big decision. At least a full month or two, it’s only started for three weeks. Not fair, two episodes per week, will decrease viewers. First, Todd, John, and Starr get casted as different characters on GH, since they failed to work with Prospect Park and why they’re being sued. Then, we get excited for bringing the shows back and had no problem watching four days per week, and now only to get reduced to two episodes. Hope this changes soon because I don’t see this as being a huge success if less episodes are being scheduled for viewing on Hulu and I-Tunes.

Thank you! PP is so focused on grabbing the ‘younger viewers’ they are pissing off and alienating their die-hard fans.. the ones that FOUGHT to be these shows back on!

We want MORE.. not less. I thought strong viewership would eventually lead to hour shows Mon-Thurs.. not the reverse! Maybe if we all stop watching, their market research will put the shows on 7-days a week.. how ass-backwards!

I don’t buy the “fan based” reason given for the cut backs, because online already gives the option of watching as we choose or as we can.

I’m really sad to see that they must not be getting the support needed and are cutting back for financial reasons. Not sure having less shows will win over a bigger fan base, but it’s their ship to run, and I trust they do want to save their investment of time and $$.

I wish them luck… and thank them for bringing the shows back for however long.

I can see why fans are mad, but I can also see why they are doing this, and it’s a smart business move. But why not just make it a primetime drama? One hour a week on Wednesday nights, or something like that? It’d be much easier! Just look at how successful primetime soaps are! Revenge, Dallas, Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practive, etc. Whatever you guys do, don’t stop watching!

This is just stupid. I don’t understand how people can’t keep up. They kept up just fine when they were on ABC, they either DVRed it, or watched online later. And you don’t have to watch every episode. With their reasoning about people having to “catch up” and watch it from the beginning, a person would have to go all the way back to 1968 to really “catch up.” Just like on ANY soap, you can jump in on any episode and just get the gist of it after a few episodes. I read the entire press release in it’s entirety and I think it’s just plain stupid. I feel like PP kinda dangled a bone in front of us, the fans, and now they’re slowly snatching it away. The shows aren’t even really “daily soap operas” anymore. They might as well be like weekly primetime soaps now! They’re completely changing genres. And how does this affect the actors who are on contract? Are they going to be working less now? The whole thing about PP bringing these shows online sounded great for a long time, but now that it’s actually happened, it doesn’t seem to be working out so well, and that’s on them.

What a Load of BS!! I used to tape OLTL and GH – that’s 2 whole hours (less fast forwarding thru commercials of course) and watch them every night in the evening…. and if I went on vacation, then I binged all the weekend catching up!

I did find that watching 2 OLTL shows back to back one day last week was more fun than 24 minutes each day! ha!

this sounds less like the viewers problem, and more like their own money problems.

how about 3 1-hour shows of OLTL a week and NO more More show every week. Maybe a special episode of behind the scenes periodically.

and I don’t know where they got the idea that we all watched both of those soaps on ABC. All my children was on earlier in my area. OLTL and GH played one right after the other, and I just preferred them.

this is highly annoying to hear this — like some of the old crap we heard from frons way back when…. ggggrrrrr

also, I’m glad I didn’t subscribe to $8/mo huluplus for this! I got a package deal on iTunes and get each episode for 50¢ each. iTunes automatically saves each episode for me every day on a cloud somewhere and then I download a 2nd copy to my computer/iTunes every day…. so shouldn’ t matter when I watch, or how many times I watch an episode., they would show that I got each episode every day.

Well, I can’t watch either soap in Canada without paying, so much for waching free.. Anyways, they have only been on a month and already cutting back, won’t be long and both soaps will be gone again. I guess in a way it is good I can watch it now, I won’t miss it for the second time when PP drops them..

Well, I can’t watch either soap in Canada without paying, so much for watching free.. Anyways, they have only been on a month and already cutting back, won’t be long and both soaps will be gone again. I guess in a way it is good I can’t watch it now, I won’t miss it for the second time when they are dropped again ..

Well, anybody out there able to read between the lines as I am? This is their very, very wordy and convoluted way of telling you that this has been an abysmal failure. From 4 episodes to 2? What does that say? I told you this was awful. Perfectly awful. And it’s too bad because the original AMC stars are so terrifically talented that to put them in such a piece of crap is a crime. They should fold up the tent now, cut their losses and try to work with a TV network. Bring back AMC the way it was. That is what we die-hard fans miss and want. Prospect Park reached for the moon and used a tiny step stool to do it!

This is really bad. I have a hard time believing that viewers can not keep up with the current 14 episodes. I don’t care if they’re new viewers or familiar viewers, it doesn’t make sense. Also, you’d think it would be the other way around–soaps on a network are shown once and if you have soapnet you get to see it a 2nd time and anytime on youtube. But it’s on daily, 5 days a week (network). So if viewers can keep up w/that, then they can with “anytime” tv and 4 days a week. If it’s money, not doing well b/c of advertising, then say it. Us soap fans have been kicked around and hood winked enough.
I will continue to watch though b/c I’m enjoying the soaps, but now I’m cautious, worried the other shoe may fall…Ugh…….

How are people having trouble keeping up with less than an hour of programming a day???? Loyal fans watched 2 hours a day when it was on network tv. Seriously, prospect is making this decision based on 2 weeks? There is more to this than meets the eye. Are advertisers not happy. I for one will cancel my subscription to Hulu now and return to Netflix. No need to pay 7.99. When I can watch it for free. This really bites. Without the every day continuity the 1/2 hr stories will get lost. As it is I hated the friday interruption .

I suspect we are being lied to and the reason is dollars and cents as opposed to them giving this silly line about wanting to cater to the unique online viewing habits (if this is so great then why is it that no one agrees it is a good idea?).

There is definitely something going on here that is not being told. The reason they are giving about viewers falling behind and whatever rhetoric they are spinning rings totally false. The fact that they are online, available anytime, and only half an hour means that there is never a reason to “fall behind.“ there are obviously money woes, and the legal wranglings with ABC are probably not helping. I hope viewers support the shows no matter what…but this does not sound good for the future. On the upside, two episodes per week is roughly the same as one hour long show per week, which is how the prime time soaps work. This allows a lot of leeway in terms of creativity and writing…a lot can happen offscreen. I dont think PP would have invested so much time and money if they were not in it for the long haul. I think is just a speed bump, but I am sure we will hear a lot more as the story unfolds. In the meantime, keep watching!!

Well, I am one of the people who is behind. In the absence of AMC and OLTL I turned to GH. I just can’t add another full hour a day to my tv watching. As a devoted fan of AM C for over 30 years I was already feeling the pressure to drop one of the two on line shows and i knew it was going to be OLTL. Honestly I could totally identify with the typical audience member that was described in the letter. While I’m not happy about the decision I have to say I’m a bit relieved I don’t have to make a choice.

I would hope that also read our comments on this site and others and use the time to improve both of them… especially in the writing. I have almost gotten to the point that I may have stopped or watched less of them because they just aren’t that great especially OLTL after TSJ is gone and RH is on less. If they improve them and they are better I will be hoping they do more. I don’t care about the MORE episode as I am not liking it. Would love too see Michael Fairman interviewing the cast and crew on a MORE episode… I would watch that! They must not be getting the viewers to support their costs. I would rather have 2 great episodes a week than none!

Something else they could try would be to put all the Shelter and younger drinking stories and angst stories on one episode a week and a episode more like we used to see with good story and see which gets the most views!

““During their ABC runs, viewers watched only 2-3 episodes on average a week and picked up with whichever day’s episode it was. Our viewers seem to primarily start with the first episode and then continue forward episode by episode,” their TOLN statement noted.”

I love how they are telling US what we watched! I watched EVERY DAMN DAY.. not 2 or 3 episodes a week.. 5 OUT OF 5!!!!

I feel for the actors, producers, writers and all of the creative people behind these shows.. they just wanna entertain.. caught up in the stupid politics of the bottom line.

If PP hadn’t put the soaps back on, ABC had other parties interested in doing something with them.. I’m starting to wish PP had given the soaps back to ABC, maybe somebody else would have done something good with them.. somebody who’s going to grow and expand.. not piss-off and retract.

I agree with you AJ – I too watched every freakin’ day (notice I didn’t really curse here and still got my point across, maybe the Writers are listening) even if I had to record the show, which I generally did since I work daytime. The only time I missed a show is if the VCR screwed up or there was a power outage! I feel like someone at Prospect Park is literally asleep at the switch. They need to at least give the show a fighting chance not practically pull the plug halfway through the third week – after months and months of all of us being so excited with anticipation – I think we should all write to Prospect Park – HOW MANY more times can they Yank our chain??

Yes, we are being lied to. Instead of giving us the truth about struggling finances, they cloak it in some stupid story about doing right by the fans by catering to our “unique online viewing habits”. BS!!!

THis is totally stupid what about the people that only watch one of the shows. What point is it to be only on two days.. YOu said you were bringing it back Then bring it back and keep. I fell that you did this on purpose you got us watching it now going to two days. I will forget to watch it. it has became a habit every day to watch it now and I wont when it is just two days..

Rich and Jeff and Michael- what can we do to get back to 4 a week. Frankly, foru shows was too little and the MORE show is not that good. I don’t like that woman and I don’t like her reading her “wonderful” mail to me. it’s a waste of my time. but the shows- they are wonderful. I want my AMC 5 days a week not 2. OLTL needs more work (Not fond of watching SHelter or young people stripping, but I will give it time to develop. I’m so thrilled it’s back. I want 4 days at least of OLTL. What can we do to change your minds. Michael- do you have suggestions. And. Rich and Jeff, while you are having them on 2 days each- much better to have one show on Mon-Tues and the other Wed-Thurs. Every other day is too confusing and lacks continuity. Please let us know how we can change your mind or what we can do to make them more successful so you will give us back our 4 days a week.

I am another that is unable to get to the computer to watch regularly (much as I wish that I could!) This proposed new pace seems much more compatible with my availability – without being so far behind. I just completed week one of both shows this week ,though I began when they both returned.

I thought it was amazing as I read the letter that it seemed to reflect what I was feeling in the past 2 weeks, actually.

The whole point of a “Soap Opera” or a continuing Daily serial is that it’s a DAILY serial – you follow it on a daily basis and it becomes almost a part of your daily routine. They are deviating too far away from what a Daily Serial is – if they want to make it a one Hour show a week, then research it I guess and make it a One Hour Primetime Nightime show like DYNASTY used to be – I’m not throwing that out there as a serious consideration, but in essence that’s all we’ll be getting anyway, one hour a week (barely, sandwiched in-between Red Balloon commericals) AS IF it were a one hour night time Drama. THAT IS NOT a “Daily Serial” and the people at Prospect Park do not seem to grasp that concept.
We have ALL been so supportive of Prospect Park’s efforts and ONCE AGAIN we have been kicked in the butt – How many more times can they jerk us around like this??

You must be kidding me. I was really enjoying One Life. I have absolutely no interest in All My Kids. I have never watched All My Kids, and I had no intention of watching it in it’s latest incarnation- certainly not without Susan Lucci.
One Life, however, was a completely different situation. I watched it intermittently over the years, and started getting into it during its last two years on ABC. Since most of the original cast was featured in the online show, I started purchasing episodes on itunes on Thursday night, watching them at the gym over the weekend. So far, I’ve been truly impressed with the quality of the scripts and the actors. However, this latest bit of news is a BIG turnoff. Clearly, Prospect Park has failed to recognize that a soap opera is a daily, ongoing commitment. Even on broadcast, I never watch shows during a “live” airing. I love saving my soaps (Days, GH), and watching throughout the weekend. Why does Prospect Park think this version of the show would be any different? DVR, tape, online- who cares WHEN we watch, as long as we watch. (And for the record, that Friday recap show is a big fat WASTE of time.)
Well, thanks for the heads up PP- I’m going to save my weekly 4 dollar investment, and end my downloading commitment to One Life now, before I get too invested in the show. Clearly PP doesn’t understand that EVERY DAY episodes is part of the soap opera appeal- broadcast or online. Oh well, it was an interesting experiment. I’d like to hope that the awesome Erica Slezak could reprise her role on GH (when this online fiasco finally ends), but of course ABC will certainly screw it all up, with lawsuits, and such. I’m sure Brian Fronz is having a good laugh at all the mess he created.

I’m sorry to hear about the schedule cuts, but I truly feel that the producers are trying their best for the fans. I am very grateful that they brought One Life back, and feel that they deserve our support. I am so happy to have the show back, and will definitely continue to watch and respect the decisions made.

That was a dumb move..
You can —- suspend—– the account and never use it never pay a penny, and still watch HuLu FREE with the regular account..
No need to cancel ,suspending works well and then you can activate your account again by simply paying for month, if you’d care too.

Not happy at all. For the past several months, we have been told that Hulu was going to air OLTL and AMC 1/2 hour programs, with limited commercials etc…They were to air on April 29,2013. Very happy, can live with the fact that they cut 1 hour programs to 1/2 hour. They told us how great it was going to be. Watch Anytime, anywhere, on Ipad, Tv Itunes etc…promo’s all day long. So…bought a blue ray player, ..170.00…signed up for hulu plus ,7.99 a month, in addition to my 200.00 plus cable bill I already have… ALL SET TO GO., First week, Friday, NO SHOW, but chats with actors. so now it’s a 4 day program. 2 weeks into watching , we are now told it will be cut down to 2 days a week, !! REALLY????? This is NOT what we signed up for. I don’t feel it’s right..and I feel as though we were lied to. 10 shows into it and it is being cut? And the reasons are partly due to the way we watch? THAT WAS THE WHOLE MARKETING , WATCH WHEN HOW YOU WATCH, ! now because we watch at our convieniance, you cut shows?? Whatever.
P.S)Also, not happy about the character personality changes..drinking shots all day, strip poker…etc..too much at Shelter stuff..Riff raff??? ridiculous. IMHO I’m Mad…..

This is stupid!!!! It’s the fastest 30 min program to get through. Fast Paced??? Nothing about these 1st 3 weeks have been fast!!! Actually still on the fence if I’m hanging in to these shows. They certainly aren’t AMC & OLTL we had before & it’s very hard getting invested in all these newbies when nothing is explained about them. PP & AMC should have just shared the 3 characters with GH. It’s all annoying!!! Not sure if these online stories will even last. It sure doesn’t see like it to me.

Thanks Jill Larson.. your great but I don’t buy one word of it… If you think we are gonna watch a show that was 5 hours a week… then down to two hours a week… and then down to one hour a week. You are so mistaken. You are killing YOUR OWN MEDIUM JILL… if i wanted 13 one hour episodes we will watch dallas and downtown abbey.. Not OLTL AND AMC… SORRY JILL after 30 years you finally lost me !! im not supporting when they don’t support the fans…soaps are five days a week that’s why they are called serial dramas….and not happy they came back just so they can curse up a storm and then cut our episodes… I just cancelled my HULU + today. You fail to understand you act like we should be thankful after they make you wait 18 months…. we still support it … we give them what they want for them to turn around and tell us how we watch and they are doing us a favor… NO THANKS!!!.. I will stick with GH and find other shows that are FREE and on for 30 min a week

I will continue to support both shows. But, it seems fishy that the shows are supposedly doing well on Hulu & they are cutting production. Sounds like they’re pulling an ABC – OLTL was axed when it was doing well. They needed to do some tweaking but to cut back after only 3 wks doesn’t seem to bode well for we viewers. Too bad!

Wow. Looks like I was right! Some of you thought I was too neg. the business plan just is not working. To go to two days a week already is def not good. No way to spin that. I give them no more than 4 months

With all the REALITY in REAL Life and Shows on TV, we needed these shows to give us some relief in our everyday lives, I couldnt wait to get home and turn on Hulu plus and watch All My Children and One Life to Live, they used to be an hour long and now they are about 30 minutes, you think with their debut ratings so high, they would be longer not shorter. I hope all the fans message Prospect Park and they reconsider!!!!!!

The watch at “Anytime” part is confusing people! when PP said you could watch it anytime! that wasn’t meant 2 be taken literally! In order for your viewership to count, fans need to watch the episode(s) the day it airs in order to count toward the 500,000 viewers they need to break even! they need to be specific and clear in what fans need to do in order to keep the show on.

PP, do you ever read these messages ? I do, and most have been saying they want it to be an hour long five days a week. I watched the first episode three times, the first time at 4 am! I love that I can watch whenever I want to throughout the day. As soon as I wake up I am watching it! I am so upset it will only be on 2 days a week (AMC). I agree that it must be because of financial difficulties. Take off the Friday recap show, we don’t like it. I can’t wait to see the net show of AMC and look forward to it every day. There is no way that people are unable to view 4 half hours episodes a week! You can watch any time of the day! I watch it when I can’t sleep at night. I love AMC! On OLTL the whole club scene needs to go, Underage drinkers! Dani almost dies and then is having a drinking game with Matthew and Corbin BLeu? Quit having people give the finger and saying swear words. You are losing faithful viewers! I do not want to see drugs, sex trafficking, underage drinking (I would prefer no drinking) and alot of sex. I want to see the original characters. Why did they make Trevor St, John’s character a murderer? Now how can he stay on the show? I want the original Starr , John McBain, and Todd .

They can say good-bye to my viewing. 42 hours a week for OLTL is not enough for me to even bother. I’m glad Kristen, Roger & Michael all have gigs on GH. It is the only soap that has been able to keep me as a steady viewer for 20+ years.

I’ve enjoyed the return of AMC and really liked the more simplier viewing of 4, half-hour shows per week. Cutting back to 2 shows per week is a waste of time. What I don’t care much for, and I guess I’m old school, is the unnecessary cursing. It adds absolutely NOTHING to the show except to liken it to a lousy ‘B’ movie. Clearly, AMC is running low-budget which is why they will be hard-pressed to get the over-emoting Susan Lucci or MEK to return.

I think what needs to get out is that you can watch oltl and amc for free on hulu. you do not need to pay for huluplus to watch. I keep hearing this from ppl over and over how they paid for it. I would like 4 shows instead of 2 and I watch both, always had, but guess 2 is better than none.

I’ll take the two shows of each a week. It beats NO shows, and if it helps people to find the show again and get caught up, so much the better.

Let’s face it. After a year off, people have to get back in the swing of watching again. And honestly, I think that the online, on demand aspect of it has made us lazy. We don’t have to go rushing home to catch it. We can watch it whenever, and so people ARE falling behind. And for those that have just found the show, it might be a little daunting to try to catch up. So I’m looking at this as a temporary thing, wtih the hope that we’ll get back to a more regular viewing pattern when they have a chance to work the kinks out.

Remember that this is a totally new animal, and it’s not going to be absolutely perfect right out of the box. Give it a chance and be patient. We waited a year, surely we can wait a bit more. Me, I’m just enjoying watching my favourite actors again. It’s all good here in Seattle.

I like having 4 shows of all my children but 2 shows are better then none. I will still watch and continue to pay for hula plus cause I like watching them on tv. Maybe in time you will put them back on for 4 shows

I think it’s ridiculous. Two shows per week? I was enjoying 4, half-hour episodes per week. They remain on hulu to watch when convenienct, so what’s the big deal? Fans can’t keep up? Gimme a break. Watch when you want – watch when you can. The shows are still gonna get watched regardless. What did viewers do when they had to RECORD five, one-hour episodes per week? Bring back Michael E. Knight and you can air it once a month – I’ll still watch.

I’m onboard with whatever it take . I am a fan that would like to see more , but something is better than nothing. I loved both of these shows and was very upset when ABC cut them . I have yet to watch their replacements nor will I in the future. Do what you have to do to keep the great story lines coming our way.

basically they said they 1. didn’t think fans were able to keep up with 4 episodes a week because they noticed we were binge watching them, and for some reason they can’t figure out why we’re not watching both AMC and OLTL episodes and it must be because there are too many episodes for us to keep up with. And 2. we’re not watching the shows with 24 hours.

in reality, we binge because the episodes are too darn short and watching 2 or more episodes is more fun; we’re not all fans of both shows – I’ve watched OLTL for 43+ years and GH for 51 years… AMC ZERO years. Just not my thing. And secondly, when they kept telling us when to watch – when they were going online — they told us we could watch WHENEVER WE WANTED…. and that is precisely what we are doing. Since it’s on the internet, it serves us the same as having a VCR or DVR and we watch when we want to, or around OUR SCHEDULES, rather than around a regular TV schedule.

I think it is because THEY can’t keep up with us. Overworked writers, etc. Like they should have recorded a few months worth before releasing to us, rather than a few weeks. We devour shows faster than they can produce it. If that is so, they should have just said so and take a break from 4 episodes a week to 2 for a short time until THEY catch up, rather than that long, sounds like BS from Brian Frons, excuse of a letter.

After this announcement, I have to say I did not change my viewing habits this last week except I waited until Friday to watch the 2 episodes together. Haven’t watched that Friday thing yet and when I watch thoseFriday deals, I fast forward to the stuff that interests me.

And by the way, I fast forward thru the episodes’ Shelter scenes, and young adults drinking and drinking and swearing, and drinking scenes… to get to the real characters I came back to watch. I think Shelter is a terrible use of Blair.

I’m glad I’m using the free Hulu! Otherwise paying $8/mo for half as many shows would suck! I download shows from iTunes – got a multi pass which came out to 50¢ a show, so now with the cut back schedule, I will pay less a week.

have been watching aAMC forever. now this 2 times per week i’ve been disappointed that it’s not on for an hour a day thinking how long will it take to come on for an hour like it used to be the show is great and if the audience watched it everyday for an hour, 5 days a week they can surely handle this online we’ve been disappointed for too long and now that you reborn these soaps, don’t let them die again.we want another 40 years listen to our hearts WE LOVE THESE SOAPS!!!!!!!!!!!

Though the viewing patterns have changed for these programs, I would like to be able 4 half hour segments of each show (AMC AND OLTL)

Rather than the current 2 half hour segments of each show I can currently receive. This would still be 1/2 of the viewing we had in original TV format. Most of the viewers would have been taping the show for later viewing (catch-up) times, when these were broadcast on traditional modes.

Nonetheless I am happy to have the shows back in any format or time-frame.

I prefer having 4 AMC episodes a week. If others need to catch up, perhaps a brief 2 minute recap at the start of the show, with a 1 or 2 minutes next on AMC at the end. Missing and being able to figure out what’s going on is half of the fun of being a long time viewer. Looking forward to when you bring back Erica, Greenlee, Annie, Amanda and Janet from another planet.

What is the reason for skipping certain episodes, and going to part two without viewing part 1 ex: Chapter 10 part 2 and Chapter 11 part 2?? This occurred in the last week of 8-19-8-22-13, so I waited, & did not watch part 2, because I saw where part 1 would air on Mon 8-26, but when it actually aired on 8-26-13 it was Chapter 11 part 2.. If you are going to show it then show it all.. no one wants to catch up & not know what happened in part 1 of any episodes

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